To Carnival!: A Celebration in Saint Lucia

by Baptiste Paul, Jana Glatt (Illustrator)

Overview

The sights, sounds and tastes of vibrant Saint Lucia come to life in this cumulative tale of a girl’s journey to Carnival. When a series of unexpected delays disrupts her journey to the big parade, Melba must adjust both her expectations and her route to the festivities. Who will she meet and what will she learn along the way?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781646861613
Publisher:	Barefoot Books
Publication date:	04/01/2021
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,166,798
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.75(h) x 0.33(d)
Age Range:	4 - 10 Years

About the Author

Baptiste Paul grew up in Saint Lucia, where at age seven he propagated a root cutting that still produces breadfruit for his family. He holds an Environmental Science degree and is the author of The Field, which received multiple starred reviews. He is also the co-author of I Am Farmer, with Miranda Paul.

Jana Glatt's fascination with creating character, costumers and scenarios began in her childhood theater classes. Today, she feels like a director of a great scene when she is creating her illustrations. Jana has illustrated more than twenty books and has been seen all over the world. She lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Editorial Reviews

★ 2021-02-09
A festive Creole story that will encourage readers to dance, sing, and celebrate Carnival.

Melba’s excitement for Carnival makes it hard for her to sleep the night before. On her way to the festival, she encounters Misyé Francois, who plays steel pan drums and sings a song about a “crazy mannikou.” Melba stops to listen a little too long and misses her bus, and both a mannikou (readers unfamiliar with St. Lucian Creole will recognize this as an opossum from the illustrations) and the drummer follow her to Carnival, as does everyone else she encounters along the way, both human and animal. When Melba nears town, she sees a crowd of brown-skinned St. Lucians dressed in costumes and bright, patterned clothes. Glatt’s stylized illustrations portray most characters with reddish-brown skin, long noses, and rosy cheeks; she paints the tropics in deep greens and bright yellows and the cityscape in an array of bright colors. Melba and friends miss the parade but make their own, delighting bystanders. The backmatter bridges cultural gaps by explaining what Creole is, defining the culturally specific language, and explaining where St. Lucia is and what Carnival celebrates, both historically and now. The author’s note reveals St. Lucian writer Paul’s motivation for creating the book, and Glatt’s illustrator’s note explains her Brazilian experience of Carnival. Glatt’s paint, pencil, and crayon illustrations truly capture the festive spirit of this celebration.

A must-have picture book that educates while it thoroughly entertains. (glossary, maps) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews